Drywall, otherwise known as wallboard, gypsum board or sheetrock, has long been used as an established construction material as an alternative to plaster walls or ceilings.
Modern architecture often incorporates curved wall or ceiling surfaces. Such surfaces may be either convex or concave curves and may be formed as an arc or a surface having a defined radius, either internal or external.
Drywall panels typically come in 4 foot by 8-foot sheets, and sometimes 4 foot by 12-foot sheets. These sheets are large, heavy and cumbersome.
Typically when constructing a curved wall surface, studs are put in place on 16 inch centers and the drywall panel is then thoroughly wetted and once wetted is placed against a first stud with its long edges extending horizontally and its short edges vertically and then fastened to that first stud. The panel is then serially forced against the remaining studs and fastened to each sequentially, until the last, or trailing, stud, is reached.
Because the flexibility of the panel decreases as one approaches the last stud forming the curved surface, it becomes very difficult to fasten the drywall panel to the last few studs. This is usually done by manually forcing the panel against the last stud and then applying fasteners. Frequently in this operation, because of its lack of flexibility, the drywall panel will crack, which is very undesirable because this will result in a discontinuity in the curved surface which must then be corrected by extensive sanding and patching with joint compound. Another problem is that the fasteners attaching the drywall panel to the last stud may pull through the panel as a result of the tension created by the curved panel. Installation of a drywall panel to a curved surface in this manner typically requires two or more people, one or more who attempt to maintain a flush relationship between the panel surface and the studs and another who performs the fastening operation. If the surface is a concave surface having an internal radius, three or more people may be required.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,460 to Luhowyj describes and illustrates a tool and method of using the tool to support and guide panels so that they may be easily and safely placed for installation. The tool is attached to an edge of an adjacent panel by fastening it by, for example, a drywall nail. The panel is then provided a guide to be joined in an abutting relationship, and is then fastened to the underlying frame. This method, when using two or more of these tools described, is useful especially for installation of panels on a ceiling. No provision is made for curved surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,455 to Brown and U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,113 to Lazo describe and illustrate a wall panel installation jig for holding the panels during installation so as to enable installation by a single installer. Use of the jig requires its temporary attachment by nails or the like to the wall studs to restrain the panel while it is installed, and subsequent removal of the jig for use on adjacent panels. Lazo further includes integral levelers and provides guides or slots for indicating where the fasteners should be inserted in corresponding relationship with the studs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,945 describes a similar installation tool having the advantage of being easily removable, that is without removing the fasteners, after the wall panel has been fastened to the framing members.
One object of the present invention is to provide a tool for assisting in installation of drywall panels to form a curved surface, which reduces the manual effort required and which overcomes the problems noted above.
The present invention provides a drywall installation tool comprising an elongated plate having one straight edge adapted to be placed adjacent the edge of a sheet or panel of drywall, a series of holes in the elongated plate being spaced approximately equally from said straight edge, whereby when the flat plate is placed against a drywall panel with the straight edge thereof aligned with the edge of the drywall panel, fasteners may be inserted through the holes in the plate to attach the drywall panel to an underlying framework of spaced studs.
The present invention also provides a method of attaching a drywall panel to a series of studs or rafters aligned in a curve on 16 inch centers comprising attaching one edge of the drywall panel to a first stud or rafter of the series of studs or rafters, attaching the drywall sheet serially to each of the next studs or rafters until all but two or three of the studs or rafters of the series of studs or rafters remain unattached to the drywall panel, using the inventive drywall installation tool to push and retain the drywall panel against the remaining two or three unattached studs or rafters, and fastening the drywall panel to the last two or three studs or rafters with the last stud or rafter being attached to the drywall panel by inserting fasteners through the holes in the drywall installation tool provided for this purpose.